


Lex Dura Sed Lex

by chaletian



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Episode: s01e10 This World Inverted, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 02:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6265615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaletian/pseuds/chaletian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec is one more interpersonal disaster away from losing control, and Lydia does not know how to fix the situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lex Dura Sed Lex

New York is a disaster.

There are no two ways around it, as far as Lydia is concerned. The Lightwoods’ forced return to Idris, Meliorn’s escape, Isabelle’s arrest, Jace Wayland and Clary Fray in the wind _with the Mortal Cup_ , Valentine’s attack on the Institute, not to mention whatever else he has planned – all of it is a disaster. And then there’s the thing with Alec.

Lydia likes Alec – really likes him. He understands the Law; he understands the security that comes with it – not just for individuals but for the whole fabric of their society. He understands that sometimes sacrifices need to be made to preserve that. And honestly, under the circumstances, she’s been amazed by his support, because she just arrested his sister for treason and he’s still talking to her.

But.

There’s always a but.

This situation is not sustainable. In the face of the current threat, Shadowhunters must be united. They must work together. They must – basically – keep their shit together. And Alec Lightwood is about one more interpersonal disaster away from losing control entirely. Lydia’s not an idiot. She can recognise the signs of someone who is increasingly incapable of emotionally processing what is happening to them, because she’s been that person. And the fall-out? Is not pretty.

And she may not love Alec – not really, not yet – but she doesn’t want to see someone she likes and respects go through that.

The problem is that she cannot see how to fix the problem. She cannot un-arrest Isabelle because the Clave’s orders have been very clear and Isabelle herself might as well have admitted that she betrayed her fellow Shadowhunters and helped Meliorn escape. She cannot recall the Lightwoods because they made their bed long ago and there’s nothing anyone can do about it now. She wishes she hadn’t told Alec about his parents, but he’d have found out one way or another now Valentine’s back. She cannot fix whatever is wrong between Alec and Jace because to be honest there seem to be layers there she can’t really fathom, and Jace’s – and, for that matter, Isabelle’s – careless disregard for the basic rules of their society is something Lydia herself is struggling to understand.

Lydia can imagine a future where she and Alec run the New York Institute, where they uphold the Law, where they protect the mundanes and manage the Accords, and it’s a nice vision, but she can’t quite imagine how they’re going to get there if Alec has to give up on his entire family to keep on the Clave’s good side. And that does raise the so-far unexamined question of whether the Clave’s good side is truly the side to be on.

It is. Of course it is. This is how their world works.

The Law is hard, but it is the Law.


End file.
